“I’m not sure,” Jerricho said. “I’d rather do a military base.”
“We can do that too,” Diesel said, and, with that plan set, they set down to work on the details.
“It’ll be even more important to make sure we’re not seen,” Jerricho warned.
They thought about it for a long moment. “We still have to take a chance.”
“Or we hook a ride on a submarine, take a slow boat out,” he said.
Diesel smiled at that. “She might go for it, but I think she’s already biting at the bit to get home.”
“Not that she has a choice,” Jerricho murmured.
“We could pick up some followers, if we end up cutting through the Philippines,” he murmured.
“We could anywhere.”
He shook his head. “Let’s just do it.”
With that agreed, he got up and walked back down to Eva’s room. He knocked on the door, and, when a sleepy voice was heard on the other side, he winced.
She opened the door, stared up at him, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“I probably needed to anyway,” she said, smothering a yawn. She pulled the door open wider and motioned for him to come in.
“Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not okay,” she said crossly. “I won’t be okay for a long time. It’s hard to have seen Paul killed but now to know about Marge’s cancer death sentence?”
He nodded and said, “And now I’ve got more bad news.”
“What could possibly be more bad news?” she asked with a gasp.
He winced and said, “Come on. Sit down.”
As she sat back down again, she looked at him. “What could possibly be wrong?”
“I hate to say it,” he said, “but it’s more bad news about Marge.”
Chapter 9
Eva watched as Diesel opened his mouth and then closed it again. “Spit it out,” she murmured.
“The plane carrying her, two doctors, and two pilots has crashed.”
She stared at him, as she felt all her insides pulling in, tightening up, and shaking. “Marge was on board?”
“Yes, all five lost their lives this morning,” he said quietly.
She looked at him and then looked down at her trembling hands.
He grasped her hands and tugged her a little bit forward.
She immediately got up and, following his movement, sat down in his lap, where she could bury her face against his neck and chest. She didn’t even realize she was weeping for the longest time, but her sobs rocked her body up and down, as he slowly massaged and stroked her back.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m so sorry.”
When she finally regained her voice, she sat up slightly, wiped her eyes, and said, “I mean, if it makes her ending easier, then fine,” she said. “But I know she really wanted to go home to Australia. I don’t know if she had family or something there that she was trying to get back to one more time. That’s just so sad.”
He nodded. “And we agree on that.”
She looked at him for a long moment, then she said, “Please tell me this has nothing to do with what was going on in our lives first.” He looked at her steadily, and her heart sank. “You’re not telling me anything to the contrary, are you?” she whispered.
“I can’t,” he said. “Officially it’ll be a freak accident, but, according to the captain, it was quite possibly a rocket launcher.”
“Oh my,” she said, her hand slowly going to her mouth, as she stared at him, wide-eyed. “What chance is there that I’ll never get out of here alive?”
“I’m not sure,” he said, “because we don’t know how widespread this is. The bottom line is, we have a plan, and we’ll head toward the Philippines, lose ourselves in Manila, and catch a flight out.”
“We’re hardly the right coloring.”
“But we’re not that far off,” he said.
Then she nodded. “I didn’t even notice,” she said, reaching out for his now jet-black locks.
“All it does is give us a chance,” he said. “We need every chance we can get.”
“I’ll take anything right now.”
He said, “We might have another option, but it will take a long time. And I’m not exactly sure what we’ll do.”
“Meaning?”
“We could take a submarine back toward US waters.”
“Oh, wow,” she said, staring at him. “But that’ll be weeks, won’t it?”
“Exactly.”
“Yes, okay. Let’s try Manila,” she said. “You’ll look after me, right?”
“I certainly will,” he said. “And, if Manila doesn’t look good, we’ll find another way home.”
“Fine,” she said, staring at him, dry-eyed. “When do we leave?”
“Now,” he said gently.
She looked at him in shock. “As in now now?”
“As in now now,” he replied.
She nodded, glanced around, and said, “Well, I don’t have anything to bring with me, so it’s not like packing’s a problem.” She took a long sharp, deep breath, and said, “Sorry, Marge. That’s not the end I would have wanted for any of us.”
But Eva knew it was all too possible that her future was uncertain too. She didn’t want to put any more pressure on the men because she knew that they were doing the best they could. But she really didn’t want to end up in Marge’s position. “I really hope we make it,” she said, “and it makes me angry that I’m having to ask for somebody’s help to stay safe. This nightmare shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”
“Another one of the reasons we’re changing course.”
“Fine,” she said. “I’ll use the washroom, and then we can leave.”
She quickly used the facilities, and then, as he opened the door, she saw Jerricho, waiting for them on the other side. He led her out to the surface of the destroyer, where she was immediately buffeted by strong winds. She looked around for Diesel, who immediately grabbed her arm and tucked her up close. Shielded her with his body, he led them to a helicopter. She was assisted inside, and Diesel sat down beside her, quickly buckling her in. She snuggled up close, loving the security of having him
